The Kremlin said it was not discussing easing sanctions with the United States in exchange for the release of Russian political prisoners.
Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this was because Russian authorities “categorically reject” the claim that the country holds political prisoners. He added that Russian and U.S. security services remain in contact over possible exchanges.
The Atlantic had reported the previous day that U.S. President Donald Trump had approved discussion of easing some sanctions in exchange for the release of political prisoners.
At the time, the Memorial-backed Political Prisoners Support project listed 1,368 people as political prisoners and said the list was necessarily incomplete.